Palmetto State News

Black history has deep roots in South Carolina's Richland County, which has now received both national and worldwide attention for the county's past and efforts to preserve it for future generations.

Excitement is building across the state for the upcoming opening of Charleston's International African American Museum (IIAM), but Richland County officials have launched a new effort to raise better awareness of Black history-related sites locally.

"Richland County has a rich and diverse history, but some aspects get overlooked," Glance Pearson, vice chair of the Richland County Conservation Commission (RCCC) and Chair of its Historic Committee, said in a press release on the county's website. "It's important for residents and visitors to know that Richland County is notable for being the center of the state's Reconstruction history, significant civil rights events and other key moments tied to the Black experience in South Carolina."

Celia Dial Saxon will have a residence hall at the University of South Carolina named in her honor for her contributions as a pioneer and educator. | University of South Carolina

Last month, RCCC members met with historic preservationists and other interest groups to establish a task force that will begin their efforts to better market the county's Black history sites and create ways to boost the economy through tourism in those areas, according to the press release. 

It's an idea being led by Pearson, who sought input and help from other historians to get the project moving forward. 

To help raise awareness, Richland County's 2022 calendar features projects that have received funding from the RCCC, the release said, including several of the projects tied to African American history. The calendar is available free of charge at Richland Library locations, and also can be downloaded at richlandcountysc.gov.

This isn't the first time Richland County's Black history has generated interest. Alexandria Russell, a Columbia native and Rutgers University postdoctoral fellow, spoke about renowned Black educator Celia Dial Saxon during an October 2020 virtual event conducted by England's Uncomfortable Oxford. 

Saxon helped paved the way for African American students in higher education as one of the first Black women to attend what is today the University of South Carolina. Russell also noted in a dissertation that the county has 17 monuments honoring Black women, the release said. 

Coincidentally, the University of South Carolina tweeted Jan. 7 that its Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name an upperclassmen residence hall in Saxon's honor.

The dormitory located at 700 Lincoln St. in Columbia will be dedicated to Saxon at a later date, Board Chair Dr. Dorn Smith said after the vote in a UofSC press release.

“Celia Dial Saxon is one of the university’s most remarkable alumni, a woman whose impact and reputation stretched across the nation,” UofSC Interim President Harris Pastides said in the release. “Our university rightly honors her by naming this building for her. Not only was she a true education pioneer, but she embodied the spirit of equality and justice through her life’s work. The Celia Dial Saxon Building will stand as a reminder to current and future generations of students of the high ideals she championed.”

An article written for C20 magazine last year by Catherine Fleming Bruce, the first Black author to win the University of Mary Washington Historic Preservation Book Prize, highlighted preservation efforts at South Carolina's Black history sites.

Bruce's article included preservation work at locations in Richland County such as the Harriet Barber House, the Modjeska Simkins House, and the Dr. Cyril O. Spann Medical Office.